Former South African cricketer Gary Kirsten has stepped down as the head coach of Pakistan's ODI and T20I sides, ESPNcricinfo reported.

Kirsten, along with Test coach Jason Gillespie, reportedly has had disagreements with the PCB since the board decided to strip them off selection powers, with that authority exclusively the preserve of a selection panel they would no longer be a part of.

Ahead of the third Test against England in Rawalpindi, Gillespie expressed his frustration over the internal dynamics of PCB, saying that things are far from what he “signed up for”.

While Kirsten is yet to make a public statement, it is learnt that he was disappointed with the developments.

According to the report, the delay in announcing limited-overs squads and captain was caused by animated discussions within the board, with Kirsten keen to have his input taken into consideration.

The report further claimed that when Mohammad Rizwan was named as new captain at a press conference in Lahore, chairman Mohsin Naqvi was flanked only by Aaqib Javed, a member of the new selection committee, and Rizwan and his deputy Salman Agha. Kirsten was reportedly not present in the country at the time.

Kirsten's departure six months into the job is quite unprecedented, even for Pakistan cricket. He coached Pakistan in a single ODI, the format where he achieved great success as a coach.

During his tenure, Pakistan faced a group-stage exit from the T20 World Cup 2024 after losing to tournament co-hosts USA and arch-rivals India.

It is still not clear who will replace Kirsten for the upcoming tours of Australia and Zimbabwe. Pakistan's tour of Australia begins within a week, with the first ODI scheduled for November 4 in Melbourne.

(With ESPNcricinfo Inputs)